Affordability at the forefront of Byron Donalds’ campaign Republican Rep. Byron Donalds has made achieving affordability in Florida one of his top priorities in his campaign for governor.

This comes at a time when the topic of affordability is on the minds of many Florida voters.

Donalds, a U.S. representative for Florida’s 19th Congressional District, has won the Republican primary for governor and is running against Democratic nominee David Jolly. He has received endorsements from President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis and has garnered strong support from Republican voters.

This strong support comes not only from his official endorsements, but from those that believe in Donalds’ campaign message.

Eddie Stokes, 31, a resident of Punta Gorda and treasurer for the Gulf Coast Young Republicans, believes Donalds’ campaign message is the right one and plans to vote for Donalds in November.

“It’s important to people in Lee and Collier County, but there’s other parts of the state that are struggling with affordability as well,” Stokes said. “So, I think it’s probably, if not the most important one, one of the most important messages a campaign can have.”

Tackling the affordability issues in Florida has become a main talking point in what Donalds believes is in the best interest of Florida residents. On Donalds’ campaign website, goals such as increased transparency in government spending, lowering taxes and cost transparency from health care providers are listed.

While deemed as the favorite in the upcoming election, the conservative nature of Donalds’ policies and alignment with President Trump has placed a strong division between him and nonRepublican voters.

Serena Tartaglia, 27, a resident of Cape Coral and a member of the Lee County Young Democrats, says she doesn’t see Donalds as the best candidate.

“I just see him blindly following the Trump model and blindly doing the Trump and DeSantis culture wars,” Tartaglia said. “Not really improving the Florida affordability crisis.”'

She also mentioned not having faith in Donalds’ plans for affordability as she hasn’t seen much from his time as a congressman and doesn’t plan to vote for him in November.

Donalds’ message of wanting to achieve a stronger economic Florida, while aimed at all Florida residents regardless of party affiliation, might be an area of concern in the leading months with voters that don’t connect to his political alignments.

Dr. Sean Ewing, a political science professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, explained that a strong association with President Trump carries some risks, especially if the competitiveness of the race increases.

“Donald Trump is also more unpopular in Florida than he is popular,” Ewing said. “So, I think that Donalds’ association with Trump does carry some real risks in a general election.”

Getting voters to look past political alignments and focus on his campaign message of affordability is just one necessity for Donalds to maintain voter support nearing election day. This is seen as 39% of voters say the cost of living and inflation is their top issue, according to a recent survey from Stetson University’s Center for Public Opinion Research.

Gene Barrett, vice chair of Collier County’s Republican Party, mentioned that the organization is working in conjunction with the state campaign to inform voters of Donalds’ campaign message locally.

“We will be going door to door to talk to voters, we’ll be participating in the Donalds campaign in a number of other ways, including gatherings, poll greetings and circulating literature to the public to outline our rationale for supporting Byron Donalds for governor,” Barrett said.

Barrett also expressed that Donalds’ campaign has reached out to the organization asking to gather volunteers that can help in spreading the campaign’s message.

Political science professor, Dr. Melissa Zoe Fryer, believes that candidates, including Donalds, center their campaign around what people are demanding and to compete with opposing candidates.

'“Everybody is struggling,” Fryer said. “Perhaps with Jolly focusing on affordability from the beginning, with Donalds not necessarily focusing on that in the beginning, you saw Jolly’s favorability starting to rise, it’s just competitiveness.”

This stronger shift towards affordability in Donalds’ campaign has continued to ramp up with the increasing statements and circulation of campaign ads Donalds is involved in.

In an interview with CNN, Donalds explained his campaign plans to modernize permitting for building homes and to modernize insurance in hopes of cutting down costs for Florida residents.

He also went on to say, “Our campaign has been focused on the details of these issues and how as the state’s next governor, we can make life more affordable for the people of Florida.”

'Donalds’ experience in finance and attention to fiscal policies is something that draws some voters in. '

Due to this, Stokes, treasurer of the Gulf Coast Young Republicans, explained that Donalds’ plan for affordability and alignment with President Trump is something he is glad to see and believes other voters are as well.

“I think that most voters, especially Republicans, when they think of Byron, I think they think of him as someone that’s more of a fiscal conservative and that’s certainly where his background is in,” Stokes said.

His personal experiences in insurance and banking might help Donalds gain voter support, as his opponent, Jolly, has also made affordability a main talking point in his campaign.

For those that aren’t supporters of Donalds, like Tartaglia, a member of the Lee County Young Democrats, the concern for affordability has become apparent to everyone.

“I think that affordability is huge,” Tartaglia said. “I mean not just for older people who are just trying to make it on Medicare and social security, but also for young people, so we can secure our economy in the state.”

As affordability becomes an increasing topic of worry with many Florida voters, how well Donalds can spread his message on affordability to become Florida’s new governor will be determined on election day.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.